The Aviator’s Wife 1981

Twenty-year-old François is in love with the fiercely independent 25-year-old Anne. One morning, Anne’s airline-pilot ex, Christian, visits her to tell her that it is over between them and that he will return to his wife. François just happens to see the two leave Anne’s building together and becomes obsessed with the idea that she is cheating on him.

As he strolls aimlessly through the streets of Paris, he catches sight of Christian in a café with another woman. As they leave and jump on a bus, François decides to follow them. A 15-year-old Lucie, a girl he has never met, figures out what he is up to and playfully joins in with his amateur espionage.

Throughout the day, their stories and explanations for Christian’s action become increasingly complex and outlandish. Eventually, they lose track of Christian in a taxi and they both leave, promising to write to each other if they ever discover what Christian was really up to. François returns to Anne where he learns that all was not as it seemed between Christian and the Blonde Woman. The revelation makes it clear that the Blonde Woman is actually Christian’s sister, adding a layer of complexity to the afternoon’s events. The two mend their relationship, though Anne appears hurt after François begrudgingly tells her about the afternoon he spent with Lucie.

Later that night, François goes to Lucie’s flat seemingly to place a postcard in her mailbox directly, saving money on a stamp. He spots Lucie embracing a young man—co-worker of François’—obviously returning from a date. He leaves, considers tossing the postcard, and stops on the way home to buy a stamp and posts it to her.